U of L surpasses capital campaign goal by more than $5 million

Students were asked to participate in the announcement ceremony by donning t-shirts and lining up to “spell out” the total raised by this year’s capital campaign.

By Genevieve Mills–

The University of Louisville already has a reputation for providing good students with academic scholarships. With a recent donation to the university, this reputation should grow considerably.

On Jan. 15th, President Ramsey announced the donation of $3 million from the Henry Vogt Foundation to U of L’s capital campaign, a gift that will be used for student financial aid and will be matched with another $3 million from other donors.

With the rising price of tuition, the news of more financial aid for students is especially welcome. Ramsey said there’s “No question that the cost of higher education is an issue.”

To honor the gift, the Hallmark scholars program, a scholarship that Kentucky high school students with a 3.75 GPA and an ACT score of at least 30 may receive, will be renamed the Henry Vogt Scholarship. This scholarship provides students with full tuition and a yearly stipend of $3,500.

Lawshawn Ford, a sophomore and a justice administration, sociology, and psychology triple major, spoke at the announcement. Ford said she, “thought I’d have to work full time to go to school, but I don’t have to with my scholarships.”

This gift was announced along with an update on how much money the capital campaign has currently raised. Students wearing t-shirts spelled out the number $755,337,793, which beats the campaign goal in 2007 of $750 million. In 2011, U of L’s Board of Trustees decided to extend the fundraising campaign, “Charting Our Course: A Campaign for Kentucky’s Premier Metropolitan Research University” until July of 2014, with a goal of $1 billion.

Henry V. Heuser, Kr., the president of the Henry Vogt Foundation, spoke at the announcement, saying of the donation, “You only do it when you have amazing leadership,” showing his faith in U of L’s capital campaign. Two new co-chairs of the campaign were also announced: Ulysses Lee Bridgeman and Charles Denny, both U of L alumni who are active in the community.

After the announcement and the good news about the money accumulated by the capital campaign, the students wearing their numbered t-shirts posed with President Ramsey. Osiah Graham, a senior history and Pan-African studies major was one of these students. Graham works in the office of admissions, which is how he came to wear the number seven on his shirt. He is a scholarship student himself as a recipient of the Cardinal Covenant scholarship.

With more scholarships enticing students from across the state to come to U of L, and providing them with the means to live on campus, this donation could help the university move away from being a commuter school. It’s a move the school has been trying to make lately with policies such as freshman being required to live on campus. Graham said, “I’m happy to see a program like this, to see a transition (of U of L) from commuter school to a thriving campus.”

President Ramsey said, “Our goal is to recruit the very best students from across the community and the state.” With more money than ever to offer to these students, that goal is becoming more possible for the University of Louisville.

The students turned around to reveal how much would be needed to reach next year’s goal of $1 billion.

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The Louisville Cardinal is the independent weekly student newspaper of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.[1] It is published every Tuesday during the academic year and once in June for distribution throughout the summer. The Cardinal was founded in 1926 and has maintained financial and editorial independence since 1980. Although the University of Louisville has no journalism program, The Cardinal serves as an outlet and learning experience for aspiring journalists. Recent advisers include Robert Schulman, Vince Staten, Kim Speirs, Mickey Meece and Ralph Merkel (current). Its editor is Olivia Krauth.